Designed for Local Context, Emphasizes Self-Learning
The Indonesian language curriculum in Enuma School (Sekolah Enuma in Indonesian) is designed for Indonesian children to acquire and improve basic Indonesian literacy skills as their first language. The main learning points are designed to be in line with the Indonesian National Curriculum. Each daily lesson consists of various mini-games, videos, and books, that are framed in a curriculum with hierarchical levels of learning goals.
Our application emphasizes self-learning activities with the curriculum divided into courses that wrap broad topics, ranging from early digital literacy, alphabet principle, letter sounds, phonological awareness, decoding words, thematic vocabulary, using words, sentence construction from the simplest to detailed ones, punctuation, up to text comprehension, expressions and showing courtesy to express politeness in daily life.
We include digital tests to measure student competencies after they finish each unit and course. We also provide review levels where users are allowed to revisit their prior learning paths to sharpen their skills. All of the activities in the application are equipped with positive reinforcement and flexibility where children could progress through lessons at their own pace.
The basic foundation of Indonesian literacy in Enuma School was established by a joint development between Enuma and a team led by Ella Yulaelawati. Ibu Ella is a well-known figure in the Indonesian education field and served as the Director of Early Childhood and Education Development in the Ministry of Education and Culture Indonesia from 2015 to 2018. She has extensive experience in curriculum development for early childhood and primary education in Indonesia. Her perspective and opinion have ensured the content in Enuma School is culturally appropriate in the local context. She believes that both structured and unstructured play activities in Enuma School allow children to take advantage of their natural curiosity, to learn through trial and error, and to discover new solutions to problems through play.
After the curriculum foundation has been set, Suri Meidianshari joined the team to continue the curriculum development. With a background in language teaching in primary education and experience heading a primary school in Indonesia, she helped our curriculum team to refine the learning map for Indonesian literacy. She has integrated various activities in the daily lessons to ensure each learning goal is achieved.
Our Indonesian language curriculum is very much designed with Indonesian culture and context in mind and this approach is manifested in the content of our mini-games, books, and videos. Out of all the Enuma School books in the library, 60 were specifically designed by considering these local contexts. They were modeled on the values of the Indonesian character education empowerment movement, also known as Penguatan Pendidikan Karakter (PPK). Since 2010, this national movement has played an important role as an education strategy to achieve the goal of the Indonesia Education 4.0 framework. The purpose of PPK is to equip young Indonesians with the spirit and values of Pancasila (the founding principles of Indonesia) to face the dynamics of the future.
The values of PPK, which are 1) religiosity (religiositas); 2) nationalism (nasionalisme); 3) independence (kemandirian); 4) harmony in mutual cooperation (gotong royong); and 5) integrity (integritas), are embedded in the books. Each value is introduced through exciting and engaging stories that are based on Indonesian children’s daily life, culture, and habits.
In the book Aku dan Temanku for example, we introduce children to a story of friendship between two very different friends. Even though they look different and like different things, it does not prevent them from forming a very special bond of friendship. This book supports the PPK value of religiosity, nationalism, and gotong royong. Through this book, children learn about tolerance and respecting others.
Our books in the library are placed according to their respective learning levels, from beginner readers to expert readers, complete with book quizzes to ensure reading comprehension.
Our Enuma School library also includes videos with different learning lessons to enhance children’s literacy skills. Videos of Indonesian folktales and national heroes stories introduce children to traditional cultures and showcase patriotism stories from different regions in Indonesia. In addition, the library also contains many learning songs, that include Indonesian folk songs, and national anthems.
Given the many natural disasters that Indonesian children are often exposed to since Indonesia is located within the Ring of Fire, our video library includes a series of five natural disaster preparedness videos for children: covering a volcanic eruption, tsunami, earthquake, flood, and landslide. Each of the animation videos is packaged with interesting graphics and a storyline to explain each disaster and raise children’s awareness to be better prepared.
Going forward, Enuma School Indonesia will continue to add more features to adapt to student needs and teacher feedback. One of the planned features is to showcase the uniqueness of Bahasa Indonesia by creating a game that teaches affixes (imbuhan). At the time of this writing, we are running a beta test of our learning application in Lampung and Medan, involving about 600 children aged 6–8 years old. The feedback and observations from this initial project and future, larger-scale pilots will bring valuable insight to help us refine our learning application to improve learning outcomes for Indonesian children.
Local language literacy for Bahasa Indonesia is one of three learning modules in Enuma School that also includes Mathematics in the local language and English as a Second Language. Enuma School is currently being tested in Indonesia as Sekolah Enuma Indonesia. Continue to follow our adventures to learn more about Enuma School.
Nesia Anindita works as Content Project Manager for Enuma School Indonesia. nesia@enuma.com
